Stay safe

Then let’s see the whole story, not some stupid clip…or STHU. I’m tired of click bait…
Yeah I've seen this posted in another forum. Have get to see much of any substantive reporting on it other than basic headline stuff.
 
The jist of what I can pull together

Multiple reports confirm that Carson Ryan, a 17-year-old from Iowa, died after an accidental shooting while squirrel hunting. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Washington County Sheriff's Office, a member of his hunting party mistook him for a squirrel.
The incident is currently under investigation
.
 
Nothing funny about this. How in the hell can anyone expect us to believe that he was mistaken for a squirrel. At least 200 times larger than the biggest squirrel I'ver ever seen.
The reality is that many people don't observe the basic rule of identifying the target. Movement? Just shoot. The hunter orange requirements are kinda terrifying when you think about it.
 
The reality is that many people don't observe the basic rule of identifying the target. Movement? Just shoot. The hunter orange requirements are kinda terrifying when you think about it.
This is why all my fishing clothes/hats, etc are bright colors. Seriously.
I would rather that fish see me coming than that some dolt with a gun* does not.

*'I'm not AT ALL saying hunters are dolts. Hunting is a fine, honorable tradition.
I'm saying there are dolts who are also hunters. There are fly fisherman who are dolts too, but I'm not really concerned about a wooly bugger to the back of the head
 
Nothing funny about this. How in the hell can anyone expect us to believe that he was mistaken for a squirrel. At least 200 times larger than the biggest squirrel I'ver ever seen.
I don't disagree with you. Not funny at all. However, I recall taking my hunter safety course at the age of nine, way back in the 70s and one of the things that stuck with me was a retelling of one man shooting another because he thought it was a squirrel or whatever he was trying to hunt. From the shooter's perspective, he saw a small furry creature moving along the crest of a small ridge or a large boulder. In fact it was another hunter, who's body was blocked out by the ridge or boulder. Meaning the only thing visible to the shooter was a mop of fur (The top of the head of the other hunter). By no means justifiable, but the argument for wearing blaze orange, especially on your head was permanently implanted in my mind.
 
Tragic and avoidable.

Treat every gun as if it is loaded until you know otherwise with absolute certainty. Don't merely rely on someone else's word, check for yourself.

ALWAYS know your target AND the background downrange behind it. If you have any doubt whatsoever, do not fire.
 
I, too, took my hunters' safety course in the 70s. Growing up in Vermont, we all knew (or knew of) somone who was shot at during deer season. Vermont is a rural gun- and hunting-friendly state within a couple hours drive of the eastern seaboard. Yahoos from Boston, NYC, and other cities would come up to VT during deer season, drink a case or two of beer, and shoot at sounds and movement in the woods.
 
Last fall in the Winchester Wasteway, a place with lots of tall reeds and winding channels, a shotgun blast went off VERY close to me. I never saw the person and got no response to my startled "whoa!" This happened quite close to the launch. Like within 100 feet. There was a truck in the lot I launched from, but nothing about it screamed hunter, and I was not being deliberately quiet while launching from my trailer - it makes the usual trailer noises.
For all I know he fired in the opposite direction and never even knew I was that close. (If so, he missed his target, as there were no follow-up sounds of retrieval.)
Or he did see me, and was pissed I wasn't magically aware that he was hunting nearby (as opposed to fishing, canoeing, dog walking, sleeping in the truck...)

I was wearing a literal red buffalo plaid Elmer Fudd hat, Seahawks-green jacket, and was in an 11 foot chartreuse kayak. Not exactly fashionable, but I couldn't have been more visible without wearing a flashing beacon. It was early, but full light.

What's duck hunting etiquette if you get to a launch and there's a vehicle present? How do you guys share water, or otherwise try not to shoot each other?

I would have simply gone elsewhere if he'd called out that he was hunting there, or even if there was some obvious indication on his truck 🤷‍♀️
 
Last fall in the Winchester Wasteway, a place with lots of tall reeds and winding channels, a shotgun blast went off VERY close to me. I never saw the person and got no response to my startled "whoa!" This happened quite close to the launch. Like within 100 feet. There was a truck in the lot I launched from, but nothing about it screamed hunter, and I was not being deliberately quiet while launching from my trailer - it makes the usual trailer noises.
For all I know he fired in the opposite direction and never even knew I was that close. (If so, he missed his target, as there were no follow-up sounds of retrieval.)
Or he did see me, and was pissed I wasn't magically aware that he was hunting nearby (as opposed to fishing, canoeing, dog walking, sleeping in the truck...)

I was wearing a literal red buffalo plaid Elmer Fudd hat, Seahawks-green jacket, and was in an 11 foot chartreuse kayak. Not exactly fashionable, but I couldn't have been more visible without wearing a flashing beacon. It was early, but full light.

What's duck hunting etiquette if you get to a launch and there's a vehicle present? How do you guys share water, or otherwise try not to shoot each other?

I would have simply gone elsewhere if he'd called out that he was hunting there, or even if there was some obvious indication on his truck 🤷‍♀️
Even if the truck was a black Toyota Tundra, it wasn't me..........
 
Last fall in the Winchester Wasteway, a place with lots of tall reeds and winding channels, a shotgun blast went off VERY close to me. I never saw the person and got no response to my startled "whoa!" This happened quite close to the launch. Like within 100 feet. There was a truck in the lot I launched from, but nothing about it screamed hunter, and I was not being deliberately quiet while launching from my trailer - it makes the usual trailer noises.
For all I know he fired in the opposite direction and never even knew I was that close. (If so, he missed his target, as there were no follow-up sounds of retrieval.)
Or he did see me, and was pissed I wasn't magically aware that he was hunting nearby (as opposed to fishing, canoeing, dog walking, sleeping in the truck...)

I was wearing a literal red buffalo plaid Elmer Fudd hat, Seahawks-green jacket, and was in an 11 foot chartreuse kayak. Not exactly fashionable, but I couldn't have been more visible without wearing a flashing beacon. It was early, but full light.

What's duck hunting etiquette if you get to a launch and there's a vehicle present? How do you guys share water, or otherwise try not to shoot each other?

I would have simply gone elsewhere if he'd called out that he was hunting there, or even if there was some obvious indication on his truck 🤷‍♀️
I'm very familiar with Winchester. If I recall, there are three different launches on the east side of the 'lake'. The most northern one being the most popular. My take is that the launch is the launch and it isn't a one truck only kind of place. Way back in the day, when I was a duck hunter (I only do upland these days), we would launch our boat and usually go to the west side, where there are more coves and inlets. I cannot imagine anyone seriously setting up a blind right next to the launch. It's kind of ridiculous. Which leads me to wonder if they were hunting pheasant. It's a very popular spot for upland bird hunters and deer (archery) hunters as well. Too popular. Roosters will usually make their way from the crops through the sagebrush and then take cover in the reeds/cattails. Those cattails are nearly impenetrable. I could see un upland hunter walking the edge of the cattails with their dog and putting up a rooster only to miss. It's possible that they didn't know you were there. If they fired a shot with the intention to intimidate you, that would be a serious crime. It's also a crime to harass a hunter. Etiquette, in this scenario would be for a hunter or the fisherman to communicate that they are in the area depending on who saw who, first.
 
Last fall in the Winchester Wasteway, a place with lots of tall reeds and winding channels, a shotgun blast went off VERY close to me. I never saw the person and got no response to my startled "whoa!" This happened quite close to the launch. Like within 100 feet. There was a truck in the lot I launched from, but nothing about it screamed hunter, and I was not being deliberately quiet while launching from my trailer - it makes the usual trailer noises.
For all I know he fired in the opposite direction and never even knew I was that close. (If so, he missed his target, as there were no follow-up sounds of retrieval.)
Or he did see me, and was pissed I wasn't magically aware that he was hunting nearby (as opposed to fishing, canoeing, dog walking, sleeping in the truck...)

I was wearing a literal red buffalo plaid Elmer Fudd hat, Seahawks-green jacket, and was in an 11 foot chartreuse kayak. Not exactly fashionable, but I couldn't have been more visible without wearing a flashing beacon. It was early, but full light.

What's duck hunting etiquette if you get to a launch and there's a vehicle present? How do you guys share water, or otherwise try not to shoot each other?

I would have simply gone elsewhere if he'd called out that he was hunting there, or even if there was some obvious indication on his truck 🤷‍♀️

I’ve stumbled into areas being duck hunted a couple times while fishing. Both while living in CO. Both on a river and each time the hunters saw me before I saw them. Each set of hunters was courteous and called out something along the lines of “Hey, heads up, we’re hunting here”. To which I responded, “fuck off, this is my favorite hole!!!”

I kid. I said something along the lines of “gotcha, thanks for heads up” and moved off to the next spot. I think most hunters out of courtesy would let you know if they saw you. At the very least because your likely pushing ducks from the area they’re set up on.

Or maybe the shotgun blast was their heads up. In that case, you just happen to cross paths with an a$$hole or two…
 
Back
Top